Etalia's Web site
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Goal: Walk 458 miles by December 17, 2003
Running total: 83.5 miles
Last week total: 11 miles
Miles to go: 374.5 miles
Status: I'm in the Old Forest
Week 2:
Here are some photos from last night's walk near the Birding Center in Port Aransas:
A lovely sky view over the marsh:
A view of the marsh grasses::
This is the 'birding center' where you can watch local birds feed in the marsh.
Particularly rosietta spoon bills which migrate through here in the spring.
A sign to stay away from other local wildlife:
Do ya' think the hobbits would have prefered this marsh?
April 4, 2003
'Pippen's Rescue' I would like to introduce you to Peregrin.
Peregrin, or Pippin as I like to call him, was found this evening while I was out on a walk to collect miles for the walk to Rivendell. My dogs and I had gone about two miles and were strolling along the water's edge when I happened to notice a bird fledging around in the water underneath the pier. Needless to say my two dogs noticed it, too. After much leash twisting and careful knot tying, I managed to tie the pups up to one of the cement posts under the pier and walked over to see the poor little bird. He was just stuck in the sand and the waves were washing up over him as he flapped his wings and tried to fly. But clearly, Pippin was too young and didn't yet have half of his feathers. So, I gathered him up in my shirt and held him with one hand, got the dogs leash with the other hand (that's 100 lbs of dog in one hand, mind you) and walked the two miles back to my house.
Now luckily, my research institute has a facility called the Animal Rehabilitation Keep (the ARK) where people can bring animals in stress or that have been hurt. They have endangered sea turtles and birds of all sorts. So I called up the ARK manager and told him I thought I'd found a baby pelican. He's brown and has a beak like a baby pelican would have and is the right size. The manager sounded dubious on the phone, but agreed to come and meet me.
Pippin is a pigeon. Yes, a wayward pigeon that fell from his nest under the pier above. So, while on my Walk to Rivendell, I rescued a pigeon.
The ARK manager says that they don't discriminate and he gladly took in Pippin who will see an animal care professional in the morning. They will keep him until he learns to fly. And then one day, Pippin will take up residence with the pigeons outside my window and poop on my car. And I'll look at that pigeon poop with fondness and think, that could be Pippin's!
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